Skies Over the Pokot

 My friends who live in the highlands near Kericho, Kenya are once
again on a humanitarian mission and have sent me some photos to share.

The first few photos show the beautiful, blue sky with wisps of cloud.
I have been to some Pokot communities but not nearly as far north as my friends often travel.

They travel to different areas of Pokot country in Kenya every month, or every other month,  whenever they can get enough donations to to buy food-aid and petrol.  The vehicle they drive is borrowed from the church but if something happens that requires repair they must repair the car before they return it to the church.

Considering these believers from Kericho are not wealthy, they take on great responsibility to make sure they minister to those that are less fortunate. The people they minister to are called the Pokot and I've written about them before.

The northern and western areas of Kenya, where the Pokot people tend to live is very arid and the people are going hungry on a regular basis.  The evangelistic and humanitarian team are zealous in their care and concern for the Pokot.
They remind me of the scriptures which say:

"But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."
Acts 6:4

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." 

 John 13: 34-35

 My friend Jonah always travels with several others volunteers from his church. They often go on a 2-3 day journey but this trip is a bit longer.

In the photos above, Jonah is standing by a granary or the storehouse where food is kept.

Right now the store houses are empty.

Can you see the camel in the shade of the tree?
Camels can survive without water for a long time in the desert heat.
Humans cannot.

The man in the photo eagerly drinks the bottled water that has been provided because the water is clean and he won't get sick from drinking it.

 Water is a luxury in many places of Kenya; especially clean and pure water which does not carry disease.

In these far flung places the people do not own cars.

If  a person wants a ride they generally hire a boda boda which is a motorcycle taxi. In a larger centre you can ride a matatu (shared van taxi).

It is not uncommon to find huge loads on a boda boda. You can also find up to 5 and 6 people riding on a boda boda in addition to the driver. Generally they are not wearing helmets.

These are interesting picture because you can see how useful a boda boda can be. In these case, they are transporting chairs.

The chairs are being delivered to the church without walls where the people are gathering to worship and to receive a blessing.   Many will have to stand as there are not enough chairs.

I love to see the looks on the faces of the children wherever my friends minister in Kenya.

These young and innocent faces express all kinds of emotions.

I often wonder what these young eyes have seen.

A bit of a dicey situation arose late Thursday night (Kenyan time).

The ministry team was summoned by the midwives to help an expectant young mom in distress.
Her water had broken and the baby was in a breech position.

My friends rushed her to clinic in the 4 x4 just in the nick of time.  The clinic is 47 kilometres away so it took awhile to get there and the situation was tense.

Can you imagine what would happen if there was no vehicle?

My guess is that in desperation, they would have tried to get the woman to hospital on a boda boda.

Fortunately my friends were there.  Otherwise I shudder to think what would have happened to the young mom and her unborn child.

Jonah and the team have now returned to the community where they will be ministering until Sunday.

The young mom was left behind at the clinic.
She will be kept under observation and given care to ensure that complications like fistula do not develop.

The missions team is giving thanks that they were able to play a practical role and a spiritual one in saving at least two lives.

As always we covet your prayers for the missions to alleviate the suffering of the Pokot people.

Joining with with Skywatch Friday

Thankful

It is Thanksgiving here in Canada and I want to wish my Canadian readers a Happy Thanksgiving.

I'm grateful to have an officially sanctioned time each year to to pause the ordinary course of events and reflect on the goodness of God and the blessings in my life.

Of course one doesn't need to wait and give thanks only once per year. I try to do that on a frequent basis but it is still nice to have one holiday called Thanksgiving. Even more so if one knows the purpose of the holiday.

Life comes with it's share of sorrows, trials and tribulations and it can make some people very bitter.

But there are also times of  joy and happy moments. Daily too there are little things that give our lives added beauty, joy and meaning and put a smile on our faces if we let them..  As a person with an abiding faith I also hold on to the scripture that says 

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

No matter what happens I feel that God will work it out in the end if I just trust Him.

Things always happen for a reason and sometimes we do not know what those reasons are in the moment.

Only later can we look back with greater clarity and understanding.

That is the Burrard Street Bridge in background and on the right is the beginning of the West End (Downtown).

I am grateful for so many things, large and small.

Sometimes I just need to stop and think hard about what those things are. Sometimes we lose sight of the goodness and the blessings when everything is not going the way it should or the way we would like.  Those are the times when it is even more important to consider how blessed we really are.

The bridge above is Granville Street Bridge. The highrises in back are Fairview Slopes area.

I'm grateful for living in a beautiful city and having beautiful places to visit, either alone or with friends.

On the day of these photos, my friend invited me to Granville Island after stopping a very nice place for coffee in another part of town. But on other days, I have visited alone and still have a wonderful time having coffee or lunch, buying fruits and vegetables and people watching.

Another view of Burrard Street Bridge.

I'm always awestruck by the beautiful scenery at the waterfront no matter what part of the waterfront I happen to be visiting in this city.

This day it was rather quiet at Granville Island. It is a long weekend, Thanksgiving weekend.  I  suspect many people have left the City to be with family and loved ones.

I am grateful I have family and loved ones too.

Though my family is small, I love them dearly.

I am grateful that though my elderly mom is sick she is still here and I can talk to her each day.

I pray daily for her many needs:  for compassionate and helpful caregivers and that God would help her memory which is starting to fade, relieve her pain and help her in every way.

I am also grateful that this Thanksgiving, I have loved ones who will join me for Thanksgiving Dinner and that I can still make the odd large meal though I don't cook one nearly so often.   Even if I couldn't we would still gather and dine on rotisserie chicken and other fixings. 

The important thing is just to be together.

On the day I visited Granville Island there was a break in the weather and the sun came out. That may seem like a small thing too.  But it is the little things that add up to make pleasant days and beautiful weeks and months and years if we take the time to appreciate them.

We will have a few sunny days this week. I'm grateful for that too because it won't be too long before the winter rains come.

Bridges is a very popular restaurant on the Island. They have large deck on the other side where you can sit and enjoy the view.

There are so many more things for which I am grateful but I won't enumerate them all.

Mainly I wanted to share these photos that I took a few days ago.

They depict a very small part of Granville Island.

If you are interested, I've posted several other times about Granville Island and in more detail.

If you would like to read them you can find them here.

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a great week!